[Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III] EndlessDissent:
Re: [ROM][ALPHA] Ubuntu Touch for D2SPR - Nightlies!

It mostly depends on which window manager or desktop environment you use. I've always thought KDE and GNOME were very Windows/Mac-like, and I've used them since 2003. Even Xfce is pretty easy to use. Most modern distros are generally focused on usability these days, so that barely matters, anyway. My preferred distro (Crunchbang) uses what most would call an intermediate/advanced-level window manager (it uses fewer resources than KDE and GNOME, so it doesn't have all the "user-friendly" features), but you would hardly notice, because it includes a lot of automated scripts and configuration tools, so everything is super easy to set up.

Really, the biggest thing about Linux-based operating systems that makes them "not user-friendly" is that they're just different from Windows or Mac, and people don't like learning new ways of interacting with complex machines like computers. In fact, Windows is hard for a lot of people to use when they're just starting to use computers for the first time (noob jokes are basically the original meme among techies; it's not difficult to use because it's poorly designed, it's difficult to use because it's new), but it's still inexplicably hailed as the pinnacle of user-friendly OSes.

The other thing people tend to hate about Linux operating systems is that they can't find their favorite programs. Sure, they won't find Linux versions of the exact same software (actually, a lot of software is being ported to Linux these days, so this isn't even an issue so much), but more often than not, there is a Linux program that does the exact same task as the Windows software, sometimes even better. And for the few programs that someone might need Windows to run, you could use Wine (extremely easy to set up) or install a virtual machine like VirtualBox or VMWare and install a full copy of Windows for the rare times you need it.

GNU/Linux is not difficult to use. It's just different, and people don't like putting in the time and effort to learn new things, so they say it's hard to use to make themselves feel better. Some say they just don't like the interface, which is preposterous, because there are so many ways to configure your environment. You can make it look and feel however you like, even if you want it to look and feel exactly like Windows or OSX. In fact, there is a ton more customization than with Windows or OSX. The only thing stopping someone from making GNU/Linux look prefect is the time and effort required to do so. Sure, you don't have to spend a ton of time configuring Windows or OSX, but that's because you can't. It's just like in the mobile space where you get iOS and WP7 - limited customization options, but they're more "user-friendly" than Android. And Android is closing that gap, just like GNU/Linux on the desktop.

Really, if you're willing and able to use and tinker with Android, you can easily use and tinker with Ubuntu, OpenSuSe, Mageia, Mint, or any number of Linux distributions. It all depends on whether or not you're willing to put in the [increasingly minimal] amount of time effort to learn something new, just like when Android was new to you when you started using it.